1. The Rise of the Nazis

2. The Great Depression Aims:
Identify the effects of the Great Depression on Germany.
Explain how this helped the Nazis come to power.

3. The Great Depression Stock Exchange
A place where stocks and shares in companies are
bought and sold.
Shares
To raise money businesses offer people the opportunity
to buy shares in their company. If the company makes a
profit the shareholder will receive a share of that
profit and the price of the shares will go up.
Wall Street Crash
When share prices in the USA collapsed in October
1929.

4. American Following the Great War
The Economy Collapses
Effects on Germany and Worldwide
Political Parties Reaction to the
Depression

5. The Great Depression
As US banks struggled to cope with the effects of the Wall Street Crash they demanded the repayment of loans that they had made to other countries including Germany.
Many German companies could not afford to pay back these loans at short notice, so factories and companies closed down and unemployment in Germany rose rapidly.
Other countries across the world experienced similar problems.
The early 1930s became known as the ‘Great Depression’ when countries all over the world experienced high unemployment.

6. Task
Copy Source A from page 28 of your textbook into your jotter. This is a graph showing unemployment in Germany between
Copy the diagram showing the Nazi Party Election results from page 13 of your workguide.
What is the connection between unemployment and support for the Nazis?

7. Enter the Nazis
Aims:
Identify the different reasons why the Nazis came to power in 1933.

8. Factor No.1 The Depression
The Depression had a huge effect on Germany.
Unemployment rose to over 6 million.
Ordinary people who had lived through the 1923 hyperinflation had had enough.
‘What did he promise? Work and bread for the masses, for the millions of workers that were unemployed and hungry at that time….it sounded like a promise of paradise’ (Eyewitness Account)
‘The Nazis were helped by circumstance…….Their message hadn’t changed, it was just that now more Germans were ready to hear it’ (BBC Documentary)

9. Factor No.2 Germans Were Unhappy With the Government
Different politicians couldn’t agree on how to tackle Germany’s problems.
Germany went through two Chancellors within a couple of years.
President Hindenburg used his special ‘emergency powers’ to pass laws.
‘People said, It can’t go on like this’.
…And the call for a strong man became
louder and louder because democracy
was achieving nothing’
Nazi Party Member

10. Factor No.3 Fear of Communism
It wasn’t just the Nazis who became more popular – the Communists started to pick up votes to.
Ordinary Germans were worried that a Communist Revolution would take place in Germany and they would lose their land, businesses and wealth.
Hitler promised to deal with
Communism and many middle class
voters turned to him.

11. Factor No.4 The Personality of Hitler
Hitler was a powerful and inspiring speaker.
He made people believe that he understood the problems they faced and knew how to tackle them.
People wanted someone they could have faith in and Hitler seemed to offer that.

12. Factor No.5 Organisation of the Nazi Party
During the early 1930s the Nazis ran successful election campaigns
There were Nazi offices all over Germany to recruit followers.
Joseph Goebbels was in charge of propaganda and millions of posters and leaflets were printed to get the Nazi message across.
The Nazis held huge rallies where Hitler made passionate speeches.
In the 1932 election Hitler used an
aeroplane to take him to 20 cities in
seven days to make speeches.

13. The Rise of the Nazis
In groups of two or three discuss the main factors which helped the Nazis rise to power.
As a group, discuss and decide what you think is the most important factor.
Be prepared to give a reason for your answer!!

14. The Final Steps
Hitler ran for President in April 1932 – he came second with 13.4 million votes and his popularity continued to grow.
In the July 1932 election the Nazis became Germany’s most popular political party 230 seats
President Hindenburg didn’t trust Hitler and didn’t want to give him the job of Chancellor.
He appointed an old friend Franz von Papen as Chancellor but he had no support in the Reichstag and didn’t last long.
Another election was called in November 1932 and the Nazis were still the largest party – 196 seats. Again another old friend of Hindenburg’s – von Schleicher was appointed Chancellor but he soon resigned.
On 30th January 1933 Hindenburg finally offered Hitler the role of Chancellor.

15. Hitler Takes Control Aim:
Examine the steps that Hitler took to establish a dictatorship in Germany

16. Hitler Takes Control
When Hitler became Chancellor on 30th January 1933
his grip on Germany was not yet secure.
His party did not have an overall majority in the Reichstag.
He was one of only three Nazis in the Cabinet.
President Hindenburg had the power to dismiss the Chancellor at any time.
However within a matter of months, Hitler destroyed
democracy in Germany and set up a brutal dictatorship.

17. Key Term: Dictatorship
The Nazi Dictatorship
Key Term: Dictatorship
When a country is ruled by one leader who has unrestricted
power.
The main features of any dictatorship are:
One leader with absolute control.
The leader uses the armed forces to maintain power by force.
Law are made without a parliament.
Organisations who could oppose the government are banned e.g. trade unions.
Terror and intimidation are used to silence opposition.
A single political party exists – all other parties are banned.
People are denied basic rights e.g. freedom of speech.

18. Hitler Takes Control 27th February 1933
Hitler called another election for March 1933.
He hoped to win a huge victory and get a majority in the Reichstag.
This would allow him to pass any laws he liked.
A week before election day, the Reichstag was burned down.

19. ‘I must insist that my action
A young communist - Marinus Van der Lubbe was arrested and blamed for the fire.
Hitler said the fire was part of a Communist plot to take over the country. But who was really to blame?
Hermann Goering was a leading Nazi and member of the Cabinet. He was in charge of the majority of the police force in Germany.
‘I must insist that my action
was inspired by political
motives….As to the question
whether I acted alone, I
declare emphatically that his
was the case. No one at all
helped me’
Van der Lubbe, 3rd March 1933
‘The burning has long been credited to
Goering……There was an underground
tunnel from his office to the
Reichstag. A Dutchman, Lube claimed
to have set fire to the Reichstag but
since he was three-quarters blind,
quite mad and incapable of
co-ordinated movements, the claim
could not be taken seriously.’
Robert Payne, ‘The Life and Death of
Adolf Hitler’.

20. 1st March 1933
Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to pass the ‘Decree for the Protection of the People and State’.
This gave Hitler the power to deal with the ‘Communist’ plot.
This law took away basic rights from the German people such as freedom of speech and assembly. It authorised phone taps and house searches. This made it impossible for political parties to campaign freely.
Over 4000 Communists were arrested
and their newspapers where shut down.

21. 23rd March 1933
The Nazis won the election with 288 seats – they still didn’t have a majority.
The Nationalist party agreed to support Hitler and the Enabling Act was
passed.
This gave Hitler the power to make laws without the approval of the Reichstag for four years.
Democracy in Germany was now over.

22. 7th April 1933
The Nazis took control of all areas of the government and police.
The Gestapo (secret police) were formed.
2nd May 1933
Trade unions were banned.
Ordinary workers now had no way of
complaining about pay and conditions.
14th July 1933
The Law Against the Formation of Parties banned all political parties in Germany except the Nazis.
Anyone attempting to set up and run a rival party would be imprisoned.

23. The Night of the Long Knives
The SA had been Hitler’s private army since 1921.
They had protected Nazi meetings, drummed up support and attacked opponents like the Communists.
By 1934, there were 4 million Stormtroopers led by Ernst Rohm.
Rohm wanted Hitler to merged the army with the SA and place them under his command.
The army opposed this and saw the SA as an undisciplined bunch of thugs.
Joseph Goebbels convince Hitler that Rohm was plotting against him and planning to remove him from power.
On the 30th June 1934, Rohm and other SA leaders were dragged from their beds by squads of SS men.
Rohm refused to commit suicide in his prison cell and was shot in the head.
The power of SA was brutally destroyed.

24. 2nd August 1934
President Hindenburg died, age 87.
Hitler combined the offices of President and Chancellor and called himself the ‘Fuhrer’ (leader).
The army had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler. They were grateful to Hitler for saving them from Rohm and the SA.
‘I swear to God that by this sacred oath I will give complete obedience to the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler….and will be ready as a brave soldier to risk my life at any time for him’.